Losing Everything
by HaibaneHippo
Summary: Romani Ranch is losing money, Anju and Kafei are getting married...life is slowly falling apart for Cremia as she agaonizes of the past and dreads of the future...Ch. 2 up!
1. Dreaming of the Past

Allo! 'Tis HaibaneHippo, and this is my first published fanfic. Cremia is my favorite character from MM, and the whole love triangle backstory between her, Anju and Kafei is an interesting subject to write about...so I incorporated the idea into this story. It takes place around the time that Anju and Kafei are about to get married, but without the moon-crashing-down- and-destroying-everything part. *hands reader a cookie* so eat and enjoy, my good friend!  
  
Losing Everything  
  
Chapter 1  
  
Sales were down that month. The lowest that year. Lower and lower, by the week. The Gorman Brothers were taking over the milk business, that was for sure.  
Cremia bent over her accounts, eye tired and head throbbing. Piles of receipts smothered the dining room table, where she was working by the faint candlelight.  
She buried her face in her hands, a worm of dread permeating into her mind. Behind her, by the since burnt-out fireplace, lay Romani, softly snoring. The little girl had wanted to keep her big sister company while she was rifling through all those papers—  
Romani didn't know about these problems. She didn't need to know about them. Cremia didn't want Romani to worry. The little girl was worried enough for someone her age.  
Cremia squinted in the pale light, hands aching from so many calculations on parchment. But, for the fourth time, she picked up her quill and jotted down the familiar numbers once again, trying to find a mistake she had made, trying to find even the slightest rise in profits. She was never very skilled at mathematics after all. When her father was alive he'd try to teach her how to add and subtract and whatnot, and often little Cremia would drive him to a frenzy, memorizing all those facts—-  
But the truth was eminent—-sales were down this month, plummeted every month, over and over, lower and lower, every month for the past year, and at that rate, she knew in a few more weeks there would be negative numbers spinning around in her head.  
All because of that damned Kafei...  
Anju and Kafei...married...still can't believe it...sales down...no money...Kafei...best friend...married...no...no money...gone...  
  
***  
  
Little nine-year-old Cremia sat on the bridge of the laundry pool, bare feet dangling and tracing circles in the still waters. Absently running fingers through her fiery red hair, she sighed and stared at her reflection, distorted by ripples.  
She was lonely in this big town, a little farmgirl amidst all the business and bustling. She couldn't believe there could be so many people in one place—it was just so loud, she couldn't stand it. Her father was off making deliveries at the milk bar and had encouraged Cremia to go off and make some friends. After all, the only child she could play with at home was Romani, and she was only two. But Cremia didn't like the children here and avoided talking to them. They might have said she was snobby, but she was used to being alone. That didn't mean she liked it, but she was used to it.  
She wished she could've brought Romani with her. The little toddler was quite talkative, the opposite of Cremia's quiet ways. But her father had refused, saying that Romani would only annoy with the older girl's playmates.  
Cremia scoffed. "Like I have any playmates," she muttered under her breath, kicking at the water in frustration, huge droplets scattering.  
"What are you doing in our spot?"  
The girl looked up, to be met by the glower of five girls who were obviously quite taller and older than she. The leader was the tallest, blonde hair in a bun and dark eyes glaring. Her arms were crossed, feet tapping impatiently on the cobblestones. The other four stood behind her, an army against the timid little farmgirl.  
Cremia stuttered, shrinking away from them. "I'm--I'm sorry, I'll just go--"  
"Hey, aren't you the stuck-up from Romani Ranch?" the oldest grabbed her by her yellow kerchief and forced her to her feet, while another kicked her boots into the laundry pool. "Off milking your chickens and feeding your cows--you're just too good for us, you little prat?"  
"Erm, no, it's just--"  
She looked at her comrades. "You smell just like your damn farm. Let's give her a washing, shall we?"  
The others nodded in agreement. Cremia writhed in the girl's grasp, but nothing would give. Four hands took a firm hold of her and dragged the terrified little girl off the bridge and to the laundry pool steps, forcing her to her knees. Cremia had ceased her struggling, whimpering. The leader took hold of her hair and gave it a good tug, grinning as she shoved Cremia's head into the water. Bubbles arose to the surface as their prisoner panicked, her captors laughing incessantly. They lifted her head from the pool only to repeat the torture once again, and again, and again--  
Cremia suffered a terrible dunking, light-headed and sobbing in the end as her tormentors walked away, tired of their amusement. She wept as she tried to straighten out her hair, a mess plastered to her face. Her clothes were disheveled, kerchief ripped off. Cremia retrieved her drenched boots with a branch, throwing them on the grass, sad, furious, and frustrated.  
Her father wasn't expecting her back, not yet. It wasn't any good to worry him. Cremia gave out a little sigh again and plopped down on the bench, the tears coming anew. She whimpered a great deal more, waiting for herself to dry. All she wanted was to be left alone--  
"Are you all right?"  
No, not again--  
Cremia turned away, mumbling a miserable, "leave me alone."  
A girl's small voice replied, "Well, I've got some laundry to do, and I can't just do it with someone sitting there and crying."  
Cremia finally did look up, to see a much less threatening child there, with sincere blue eyes and short auburn hair in a plain looking frock, holding basket filled to the brim with dirty garments. She set it down and took a seat beside the despondent little girl.  
"I'm Anju. What's your name?"  
"Cremia."  
"Don't you have any friends?"  
"No."  
Anju thought for a moment, then asked, "Then can I be your friend?"  
Cremia wiped her tears on her sleeve, smiling weakly. "Okay."  
  
***  
  
Anju and Cremia did become friends, and very good ones at that. Cremia became a great deal less shy and Anju awaited each milk delivery with eagerness. They would often be seen by the laundry pool, or exploring in the northern part of town, or hanging about the Stock Pot, a cafeteria owned by Anju's mother. One particular time they were dwelling in the kitchen, assigned to look after two-year-old Romani. The kitchen was a place that seemed to permanently hold the aroma of stew and vegetables and meat, although the stove was not lit and all knives were safely out of their reach. Anju's mother had sent them to the room, since she noted she was expecting some company and wanted the girls to wait patiently until they were sent for.  
"Romani, don't touch that--it's hot--"  
"No! Don't eat that!"  
The two girls were quite exhausted after half an hour of scolding the restless toddler. Little Romani would nod eagerly at each admonishment, then after Cremia would turn her head, the toddler would hobble off to create a new set of mayhem.  
"We need to get her out of here," Cremia mumbled, holding firmly onto Romani's hand.  
"But Mother told us to--"  
"She tried to eat a spoon, Anju."  
The older girl reluctantly agreed, nodding. "You--you're right."  
"Can't we just have a peek of what your mother's doing with the mayor and his son?"  
Anju's ears perked up. "The mayor has a son?"  
Cremia nodded. Romani let out a garbled protest and tried in vain to escape her sister's grasp. "My papa said that--oh shut up, you little--"  
"Romani wants to go outside!" the toddler whined, stomping her feet in a tantrum.  
Anju groaned. "Romani, will you be--"  
"She is getting a little out of hand," Cremia mumbled, edging toward the door with her baby sister in tow. "Oh, quit being a goody goody, Anju."  
The three girls snuck out the kitchen and into the corridor, off to find other means of amusement for troublemaking Romani. They were about to sneak into the lobby when they heard the laugh of Anju's mother and the high, squeaky voice of the new town mayor. Their childish curiosities getting better of them, they peered around the corner.  
Cremia clasped a hand across Romani's mouth to keep her quiet, and she watched the familiar form of Anju's mother, and the not-so-familiar, tiny frame of the mayor, his purple hair plastered neatly to his head. Sitting on the bench was the mayor's son, watching the clock with a glazed look. Cremia and Anju stared at the young boy, and Romani sneezed—-quite conveniently into her older sister's palm.  
Cremia gaped in horror at the sticky mess on her fingers, her shock rendering her silent. Then she glared at the grinning Romani—oh, the little bugger was going to pay, and badly--  
"You--" she snarled, and before she knew it Romani was screaming and hurtling up the stairs, Cremia chasing after her, and finally Anju behind, panicking because their cover was so elegantly ruined.  
  
***  
  
What a bore this was, thought Kafei, fiddling with a lock of his hair as he eyed each tick of the clock. His father was likely to go on and on for at least half an hour—the town mayor could say nothing in a million words, and then some.  
The boy sighed. His father had dragged him along to make calls as the new mayor, which Kafei reluctantly agreed to, though he would have liked it much better if he had stayed with his mother. But there were to be children, his father said. The boy was easy to make friends, but the problem was, there were no children to be friends with. Quite a dilemma, and here he was now, listening to his father babble on about race dogs.  
He checked the clock. A minute had passed.  
A minute—  
There was the shrill shriek from the corridor, followed by another scream, and then miserable muttering as there were feet pounding up the stairs. The interruption cut the mayor's monologue about the various species of dog and the cafeteria owner's unwavering attention—a rather unpleasant look crossed her face. But his father smiled and glanced at Kafei.  
"Why, my boy, it seems that you've found some children to play with."  
Kafei looked sluggish, and he nodded.  
The cafeteria owner looked apologetic, then took to opportunity to win the mayor over. "I've got a daughter and her friend," she said, "and they're playing upstairs. I suppose your son can join them." There was pounding and crashes up above.  
Girls? This made him even more reluctant. Kafei knew nothing about girls.  
But his father prodded him on. "You go enjoy yourself." And with a pat on the back Kafei was sent up the stairs to his new playmates.  
  
***  
  
"You little lout!" When the three scrambled up to the balcony, Cremia managed to tackle Romani to the ground, with Anju trying to separate them.  
"Cremia you're going to break her arm!"  
"GOOD!"  
"Aaaah!" Romani shrieked as she tried to crawl away, but Cremia quickly grabbed onto her clothes and pulled her back, owing the quick reflexes from catching cuccos back home.  
"You're not getting away, you little--"  
"Romani don't want to play anymore! Romani don't want to play anymore!" There was a high pitched bawling as the toddler shielded herself from Cremia's blows.  
"Cremia get off her!"  
"Excuse me?"  
All chaos froze. The three looked up, Anju still grasping onto her friend's collar, Cremia with one hand curled over her sister's neck and the other suspended in the air in a fist, and Romani underneath all the tumult. It was silent on the balcony for a moment, for even the toddler had halted in her screeching.  
To their horror, standing before them was the blue haired boy from the lobby, his red eyes surveying them with curiosity. It wasn't everyday he saw this kind of scene, with two girls on top of each other screaming and a third about to dive in. There was an innocent look about him, with his hands clasped behind his back and his posture straight, like the mayor's son he was.  
"Hello." Cremia was the first to break the silence, despite her awkward position in which she greeted him.  
"Hello," muttered the boy. "What are you doing?"  
"Playing." Cremia got to her feet, dragging up the toddler with her.  
"Playing," echoed Romani, nodding in agreement.  
"You be quiet," snapped Cremia, about to clasp her hand over her sister's mouth, but then thought better of it.  
"I'm Kafei," he said.  
"Romani!" The toddler was delighted to recite her own name. She then pointed at her older sister. "Cremia."  
Cremia opened her mouth to say something, presumably a retort, but refrained, being in the presence of a boy and all. "Yes," she muttered, miserably, embarrassed enough by the toddler. "I'm Cremia."  
"And my name is, erm, Anju." The girl held out a hand, too nervous to know what she was doing.  
The boy named Kafei looked surprised at the gesture, then took it, feeling as anxious as she.  
Anju stepped in to lighten the awkwardness. "Do you want to join us? Well, we're not going to play like this but some other way--you were looking bored listening to my mother and your father--quite bored--"  
"All right," Kafei said.  
  
***  
Cremia awoke with a start when she heard the clatter of porcelain against the table. Papers flew everywhere, floating to the ground like injured birds.  
"Wha—" she murmured, rubbing her eyes. After several seconds of adjusting to daylight, she nearly jumped when a heap of yellow was appeared before her nose.  
"Romani made you breakfast." The little girl held a plate in her hands, looking delighted as she showed her culinary masterpiece of scrambled eggs to her sister. Romani had already changed into clean garments and combed her often uncooperative red hair into place, meaning—  
Cremia bolted from her seat to the window, and a pang jolted through her body as she realized that the sun was already halfway across the sky.  
"Romani, why didn't you wake me up?" the young woman snapped as she gazed in dismay toward the grazing fields. Tears of frustration gathered in her eyes. "It's already noon—now I'm so far behind on chores, nothing will get done—"  
"Romani did them for you." Her sister remained where she was, the plate of steaming eggs still in her hands. "You were sleeping at the table, and looked really tired, so when Romani woke up she decided to do them—" She did a little half shrug, eyeing the papers that had scattered about on the floor. "Romani's sorry if she was too noisy for you—"  
"Oh no, not at all," Cremia whispered, and with a second glance she realized the cows were peacefully grazing not far from the house. She turned back, the plate of food resting on the table, upon a small pile of receipts. The little girl was on her knees, picking up the stray papers on the dusty wooden floor. The older sister joined her, eyeing the numbers once again. The familiar dreading feeling crept up once again, seeing those numbers, the numbers she learned to despise.  
Romani had picked up most of the documents, placing them in a neat pile near her sister's place in the table, where a majority of the papers were in a clutter. Cremia watched her from the window.  
"You did a good job with the cows," the older girl replied. "They don't look frazzled or anything."  
"You're welcome," Romani replied, recognizing a "thank you" from her sister. It was unusual to hear the actual words from her sister. "Romani worked hard on the eggs."  
"You did, didn't you?" Cremia smiled and gave her sister a hug. "Now did you eat breakfast?"  
Romani shook her head. "Romani wanted to eat with you."  
"All right then." She realized how hungry she was and took a seat at the table. Cremia dumped a healthy portion onto her plate, in order to please her younger sister, which it did.  
After some idle talk, Romani asked, rather quietly, "Can Romani come to town with you today?"  
Cremia remembered that she had to deliver milk that afternoon. With a sigh, she shook her head.  
Romani frowned. "Why not?"  
"Somebody needs to look after the cows."  
"But the cows are all right by themselves."  
"Still, Romani—"  
"You used to let me come with you." The little girl looked disgruntled.  
"Things have changed." Cremia looked at her eggs, trying to decide what to say. "Clock Town's different now."  
"Oh." Romani knew that tone in Cremia's voice meant that the conversation was done and over with. And it was.  
  
Author's note: I hope you liked it...I need five reviews in order to post the next chapter, just to show that somebody wants to read more of this, so it would be nice if you could rate and review...have a happy day ( 


	2. Sudden Memories

Thanks Chana Motuo and Rainer Aquarias for reviewing!! You have made me mucho happy : ) *hands everyone cookies*  
  
Enjoy!  
  
Losing Everything  
  
Chapter 2  
  
The afternoon sun was perched in the cloudless sky, bright and cheerful in contrast to the manager of Romani Ranch. Cremia checked the harnesses for the last time, providing her another excuse to stall her departure. Romani watched from the front of the house.  
"Romani can't go?" she asked.  
Cremia gave the leather straps one last tug, the horses whinnying in protest. She shook her head. "Romani can't go."  
The little girl pouted. "Fine," she muttered.  
Her older sister laughed and got down on one knee in front of the disgruntled child. "Don't look like that." She kissed Romani's forehead. "Now be good."  
"Okay."  
But Romani still watched with a longing as Cremia rode away.  
  
***  
  
Cremia bumped along the road of Termina Field, a bit lonely. Romani would have been nice company for the trip, but she shook her head, knowing that Clock Town wasn't the sort of place for an innocent soul like her.  
Her thoughts wandered from her sister to her father. Her old man had passed away a year ago, and she missed him. Often he'd bring Cremia and Romani along whenever he made milk deliveries. Those were noisy times indeed, when Romani would be trying to climb off the wagon and Cremia would have to pull her back, all the while bouncing on the dirt road with their father laughing like a crazed galoot.  
Times were quiet now.  
She remembered with a smile when she was twelve years old, during a day as clear and sunny as this.  
It had been when twelve-year-old Cremia, five-year-old Romani, and their father were making deliveries in Clock Town. Their wagon was situated in front of the Milk Bar, supposedly being looked after by the two sisters, while their papa was inside helping himself to a drink, or rather drinks, seeing the time he took.  
Instead Cremia, her younger sister, Anju, and Kafei were sitting on the bench adjacent to the Stock Pot. The afternoon, though splendid, passed by at the rate of drying paint. The Bombers had the area of North Clock Town under their control, and when the Bombers were there the four children couldn't barge into their territory, unless they wanted to play a game of hide-and-go-seek, and they weren't in the mood for that at the moment.  
The streets were too crowded to play in--it was a market day, and people from all corners of Termina were there, selling and trading their wares. They watched the Gorons and Zoras and the occasional Deku walk by. Conversation was seldom exchanged among the four children, with the exception of Romani, but her nonsense babble didn't count as conversation. They were being bored together, and that was what counted.  
When Cremia's father still hadn't emerged from the Milk Bar, Kafei proposed the most absurd notion:  
"Why don't we take a ride in the wagon?"  
Anju gaped at him. "What?"  
Romani jumped up and down. "Yes!"  
Cremia shook her head. "You're insane!" she retorted. "Papa's going to kill me!"  
The boy looked at her pleadingly. "Come on, Cremia, I'm bored."  
"We all are," Anju pointed out.  
"But just some trotting around the field, right near the gates!" He had hopped off the bench and was now down on his knees. "Come on, Cremia!"  
But the children were bored, and soon enough after some more pleading from Kafei, Cremia finally gave in. They made their way to the wagon and climbed in.  
"You have driven this before, haven't you?" asked Kafei, seating himself in the front.  
"Yes--where's Romani?" Cremia looked into the back to find her sister rolling around in the back. The wagon was empty now, with the jars of milk all unloaded. Romani rejoiced in the space. "Oh you little--come here before you hurt yourself!"  
"Yes, sister," the little girl chirped, and made her way to the front.  
Cremia was sandwiched in the middle of Anju and Kafei. She had the reigns in her hands, the horses calmly rocking their heads back and forth.  
"Just outside the gates, right?" she asked.  
"Yes," Kafei replied.  
"All right--let's go—AHH!" Cremia was just about to tug on the reigns when Romani, still situated in the back, had in fit of overexcitment, had screamed "sister!" and jumped on Cremia's back, hugging her neck.  
This pulled the girl back and instead of a gentle tug there was a violent jerk; it surprised the two horses, who were normally quite slow and composed, and with panicked whinnies they reared back and instead of trotting toward the gate, they bolted up the stone stairway toward the mayor's home.  
Now this area of Clock Town, being a market day, was quite crowded, and amidst Cremia's panicked shrieking and Romani's delighted squeals, both cityfolk and foreigners had to dive out of the way in order to escape with their lives.  
They rattled up the stairs, and Cremia in her panic still managed to hold on to the reigns.  
"WHEE--"  
"Oh, shut up, Romani!"  
There were more screams as people scrambled for cover--stands were overturned and cuccos ran amok--  
"Cremia I thought you knew how to drive this thing!"  
"Not in crowded places!" snapped Cremia. Anju was holding on to her arm so hard it went numb. They were hurtling toward the mayor's now--she let out another scream among many and gave the reigns another yank. The horses took a sharp turn toward North Clock Town, nearly throwing the children off the wagon.  
They raced into Bomber territory. The sudden transition from cobblestone to dirt almost hurled Romani into a bush--Cremia let out a scream of "good riddance!" but Kafei's iron grip saved the little girl from her doom.  
Dust clouded the air and there was even more confusion as the Bombers shrieked and jumped out of the way.  
They raced off the dirt back onto the cobblestones. South Clock Town was even more crowded than the West, since most of the stands were situated there. Not exactly the best setting for two crazed horses dragging along a wagon with four children in it.  
"GAH!" Cremia jerked at the reigns once again, trying in vain to maneuver in the packed horde. They smashed headfirst into a flower stand. Cremia flew off the wagon and landed on the awning, causing it to collapse. The place smelled of panic and flowers. There was struggling underneath the thick cloth. Anju was the one who crawled out first, coughing and whimpering.  
A crowd gathered around them and the shattered flower stands, muttering to each other and shaking their heads. The wagon, Cremia saw, was surprisingly still intact. The horses were back to their calm selves, chewing contentedly on some carnations as they stood on top of the broken boards.  
The flower stand owner, a rather grumpy looking yellow deku, was screaming and sputtering about his beautiful geraniums. Romani sat beside Cremia, unhurt. Not only unhurt, but in fact, giggling. "Again!" she chirped. "Again!"  
"What?" Cremia snatched her sister's collar.  
A rose with its petals half broken appeared before her nose. Its bearer was Kafei, his hair ruffled and usually neat clothes out of place. He was grinning.  
Cremia was just about to smile back when she heard the bellow of her father.  
"CREMIA!" He emerged in front of the throng, his face red and his fists waving up in the air.  
The children were given a good tongue lashing from her father, Anju's mother, and of course Kafei's parents, being the mayor's family and all. The once so busy and bustling market was now a mess of broken wood shards and panicked cuccos. As punishment they were told to rebuild the stand they had broken, which they did, restoring the flower stand back to its rickety magnificence.  
The memory was a sudden one, buried underneath the concrete layers of hatred and angst that had piled one on top of the other over the few short months. Thinking of it made her sad and happy at the same time. She was happy because it was perhaps one of the best times she ever had in her life, but there was sadness there too. She didn't know why. There wasn't anything to be sad for anyhow.  
As Cremia stared at the idle bushes as she crawled passed them. It was hard to imagine she had such times with Anju and Kafei. It felt like a completely different world, a chapter in someone else's life, not hers. It all happened all at once, now that she thought about it.  
With a sigh and a yawn she sat back, hands loosely gripped on the reins. She still had a long ways to go. The stonewalls of Clock Town could be seen in the distance, but it was still an hour's ride. Her thoughts wandered idly, jumping from one thing to the next like a cucco in a cage.  
The sun peered over the tops of the trees and watched Cremia as she reminisced about times that seemed so long ago.  
  
Author's Note: Kinda short, kinda slow, but there's some more exposition for ya...the next chapter is gonna be full of flashbacks, showing what happened between Cremia and Anju and Kafei...so if ya like it or hate it, can u leave a review please? I luv you if u do...and if you don't I luv you anyway : )  
  
Have a nice day,  
  
H.H. 


End file.
